Mister Ron's Basement II - podcast cover

Mister Ron's Basement II

***"The stories are gentler than what passes for humor today, but what's surprising is how current some of them are. Human folly doesn't change much from decade to decade." --John Kelly, Washington Post*** Our mission is to explore the universe of Public Domain American humor, featuring the greatest writers in the world seven days a week - Five days a week lately but seven will return! If you haven't subscribed yet, please do, as ALL 1960+ Episodes are available on iTunes! Your comments are welcome, and emails can be sent to revry@panix.com. **We are now serializing James M. Bailey's 1878 book, 'England From a Back Window' every Monday. Don't Miss it! ** Please post your comments and reviews here on iTunes. Thanks!
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Episodes

Mister Ron's Basement #1182

Thu, Oct 16 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1182 When you get right down to it, some people don't appreciate a good joke, as happens in George Ade's 1900 tale, 'The Fable of the Inveterate Joker Who Remained in Montana.' Time: approx five and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The George Ade Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/AdeCatalog.html...

Oct 16, 20086 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1181

Wed, Oct 15 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1181 A century or so ago, Phrenologists, who would read fortunes and character from the bumps in peoples' heads, were quite popular. Today's George Ade story, from 1899, deals with just that. It's called 'The Fable of the Visitor Who Got A Lot for Three Dollars.' Time: approx five minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The George Ade Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/AdeCa...

Oct 15, 20085 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1180

Tue, Oct 14 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1180 It's been awhile since we offered any of George Ade's Fables, so let's do some this week! We'll start with an 1899 tale of a conundrum with a terrific moral -- 'The Fable of the Caddy Who Hurt His Head While Thinking.' Time: approx four minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The George Ade Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/AdeCatalog.html...

Oct 14, 20084 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1179

Mon, Oct 13 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1179 For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Eighteen of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- 'In the Queen's Dungeons' -- where The Boss sets a lot of prisoners Free. Time: approx twenty-three minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Mark Twain Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/Twain.html The Mark Twain Connecticut Yankee Novel Index of Stories i...

Oct 13, 200823 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1178

Sun, Oct 12 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1178 SUNDAY SALAD offers TWO of the BEST Stanley Huntley stories we've ever presented! First, from 1880, comes a classic tale of old Bismarck, Dakota -- 'The Gentleman from the Bad Lands.' Then Mr. and Mrs. Spoopendyke examine a rarely worn coat in 'Preparing for the New Years' from 1882. Not to be missed! Time: approx twenty minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Stanley Huntley...

Oct 12, 200820 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1177

Sat, Oct 11 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1177 From 1889, C. B Lewis, writing as M. Quad, brings us a lesson in commerce in 'Bowser Speaks Slightingly of His Wife's Business Methods, But --' Time: approx seven minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/quad.html The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Mister Bowser Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/mrbowser.html...

Oct 11, 20087 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1176

Fri, Oct 10 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1176 In today's 1875 story, Eli Perkins considers the effect of a glut of jewels on the market in 'Solitaire Diamonds.' Time: approx five minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Oct 11, 20085 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1175

Fri, Oct 10 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1175 The wild west was full of rough, lawless characters, but no matter how wild they were, they had to pay their fares on the railroad, as we see in Eli Perkins' 1875 story, 'A Frontiersman.' Time: approx five and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Oct 10, 20085 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1174

Thu, Oct 09 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1174 Today we join Eli Perkins and a law student vying for the attention of a lady at a dance in the 1875 story 'The Legal-Minded Man.' Time: approx four and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Oct 09, 20084 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1173

Wed, Oct 08 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1173 We'll be hearing some more fun stories from Eli Perkins' 1875 book 'Eli Perkins (At Large)' this week. Today we find out the results of naming someone as the 'most beautiful girl' in print in 'Eli Perkins in Hot Water.' Time: approx seven minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Oct 08, 20087 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1172

Mon, Oct 06 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1172 For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Seventeen (Part Two) of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- 'A Royal Banquet' -- where The Boss gets an uncomfortable taste of medieval justice. Time: approx fourteen and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Mark Twain Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/Twain.html The Mark Twain Connecticut Y...

Oct 06, 200814 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1171

Mon, Oct 06 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1171 SUNDAY SALAD offers up TWO Stanley Huntley pieces this week -- first we get an inside scoop on the pharmacy business in 'A Dismal Druggist' from 1882, and Mr. Spoopendyke gets out in the garden in 'The Mild Mannered Man Tries His Hand at Transplanting' from 1883. Time: approx eleven minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Stanley Huntley and Spoopendyke Catalog of Stories is ...

Oct 06, 200811 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1170

Sat, Oct 04 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1170 Mr. Bowser gives his house a once over in C. B. Lewis's 1889 story, 'How the Man of the House Had It Painted and What It Cost.' Time: approx nine minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/quad.html The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Mister Bowser Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/mrbowser.html...

Oct 04, 20089 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1169

Fri, Oct 03 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1169 There are mean men, and meaner men, but Eli Perkins' wrote a story in 1875 about 'The Meanest Man Yet'. Time: approx three minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Oct 03, 20083 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1168

Thu, Oct 02 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1168 Eli Perkins relates an 1875 story about a sad old miner, observing the young miners come into the bank, cashing in their gold dust. It's called 'A Lonesome Man.' Time: approx four and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Oct 02, 20085 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1167

Wed, Oct 01 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1167 With all the tragic news coming out of Wall Street these days, we may want to take a look at Eli Perkins' 1875 tale of a disconsolate broker. It's called 'A Sad Man.' Time: approx five minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Oct 01, 20085 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1166

Tue, Sep 30 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1166 Melville D. Landon wrote under the pen name of Eli Perkins, and was probably more well known as a compiler of American Humor collections. Nevertheless, he was capable of writing extremely funny stories of his own. Today, we'll hear an 1875 Eli Perkins tale about Jesse and Frank James, a daring robbery, an admiring newspaper editor, and an act of gratitude in 'A Grateful Man.' Time: approx five and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog ...

Sep 30, 20086 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1165

Mon, Sep 29 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1165 For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Seventeen (Part One) of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- 'A Royal Banquet' -- featuring food, music, bawdy jokes, prayers, and a hanging. Time: approx eight minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Mark Twain Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/Twain.html The Mark Twain Connecticut Yankee Novel Index ...

Sep 29, 20088 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1164

Sun, Sep 28 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1164 SUNDAY SALAD offers TWO Stanley Huntley stories today -- From 1883, a Temperance crusader attempts to bring the Brooklyn Eagle's editors into the Prohibition campaign in 'Wanted the Paper's Influence' and Mr. Spoopendyke is hailed by one and all as the next Mayor of the city in 'The Reconciliation Candidate' from 1881. Time: approx eighteen minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html...

Sep 28, 200814 hr 58 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1163

Sat, Sep 27 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1163 Mr. Bowser displays his carpentry prowess in C. B. Lewis's 1890 tale, 'The Head of the Family Tries to Put Up Some Screen Doors.' Time: approx eight minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/quad.html The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Mister Bowser Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/mrbowser.html...

Sep 27, 20088 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1162

Fri, Sep 26 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1162 Here's a nifty 1876 Max Adeler story about a judicial blunder and a bald man's hat called 'Justice, and a Little Injustice.' Time: approx four and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html...

Sep 26, 20080

Mister Ron's Basement #1161

Thu, Sep 25 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1161 Max Adeler often wrote pretty funny poetry. Today we feature a humorous verse from Adeler's 1874 collection, 'Out of the Hurly Burly,' It's called 'Tim Keyser's Nose.' Time: approx four and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html...

Sep 25, 20085 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1160

Wed, Sep 24 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1160 Our Max Adeler Marathon continues with an extremely short story concerning a horse, a saddle, and a friendly bit of advice in 'The Saddle Was On Wrong' from 1873. Time: approx two and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html...

Sep 24, 20082 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1159

Tue, Sep 23 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1159 In what is turning into a Max Adeler Marathon, we present a third week in a row of Adeler short stories. Today we hear about a coroner, an Egyptian Mummy, and Noah's Ark in the 1875 tale, 'Sorry He Wasn't There.' Time: approx three and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html...

Sep 23, 20083 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1158

Mon, Sep 22 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1158 For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Sixteen of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- 'Morgan Le Fay' -- where we hear of Knights selling soap and a truly nasty Queen. Time: approx fifteen minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Mark Twain Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/Twain.html The Mark Twain Connecticut Yankee Novel Index of Stories...

Sep 22, 200815 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1157

Sun, Sep 21 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1157 SUNDAY SALAD offers FOUR pieces today -- two very funny stories are definitely by Stanley Huntley -- 'The Editor and the Tracts' from 1881 and 'Sanctum Fables,' also from 1881. Another 1882 piece from an Oregon newspaper called 'Spoopendyke at the Telephone' was obviously not authentic, even to readers of the day, and 'Spoopendyke Starts a Fire,' also from 1882, from a North Carolina newspaper, and claiming to be from the Brooklyn Eagle, may be a coun...

Sep 21, 200813 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1156

Sat, Sep 20 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1156 Mr. Bowser is up to his usual antics in C. B. Lewis's 1890 story, 'The Head of the Family Tries Sleeping in a Hammock.' Time: approx seven minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/quad.html The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Mister Bowser Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/mrbowser.html...

Sep 20, 20087 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1155

Fri, Sep 19 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1155 Despite his happy name, a hunter achieves incredible levels of anger and frustration in Max Adeler's 1875 tale, 'Mr. Smiley's Gun.' Time: approx four minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html...

Sep 19, 20084 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1154

Thu, Sep 18 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1154 Short but funny! Max Adeler's 'A Story of a Hot Brick' from 1875. Don't miss it! Time: approx three and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html

Sep 18, 20083 min

Mister Ron's Basement #1153

Wed, Sep 17 2008 Mister Ron's Basement #1153 Max Adeler had a keen eye for clever inventions. Today's incredibly funny story from 1873 concerns a new-fangled sewing machine. It's called 'Kipp's Inventive Experiment.' Time: approx four minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html...

Sep 17, 20084 min
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